Author: Gary Furr

I am a musician, writer and Christian minister living in Alabama. I am founder and President of the Alabama Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children.
Art, Banjo, Christmas, Culture, Movie Soundtracks, Music, Songwriting

Visitor to Virgin Pines

Gary Furr
Scene from the movie

I have dipped my first toe into soundtrack creation for a movie.  My bandmate, Greg Womble, has written and produced a beautiful short Christmas film and is in the final edit stage of his short Christmas film, “Visitor to Virgin Pines.”

Our band was invited to do music for it, and I have to say, it is one of the most interesting undertakings I have ever done.  Mostly late at night, I sat with a banjo, guitar, mandolin, even percussion, and tried to create “moods” for scenes.  I have enormous appreciation for what people who do this face.  And yet, it is joy to do it.  I came up with some really nice instrumental stuff, not all of it chosen for the musical, but which may land in a Christmas CD.  Here’s a piece I did on the banjo called “Sugarplum Ferries” (yes, I know.  I spelled it the way I wanted to–I had the image of little boats going back and forth loaded with goodies).   “Sugarplum Ferries” Continue reading “Visitor to Virgin Pines”

Art, Prayer, Spirituality, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving4 Comments

Thanksgiving

Gary Furr

Anne Lamott has written a new book called Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential PrayersI This represents a considerable development in her theology of prayer, because she said in an earlier work that there were really only two variations of prayer–“Help me, help me, help me” and “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” so I look forward this expanded theology!   I haven’t read it yet–I will–but “wow” seems fitting.  I believe part of the artistic vision is to tromp around in those parts of reality that hunger from neglect by politicians (a finishing school for becoming a world class … Continue reading Thanksgiving

Anger, Conflict, Culture, Ethics, Forgiveness, Hope, humanity, Love, Manners, Modern Life4 Comments

Cynicism and Forgiveness

Gary Furr

“Forgiveness” is my wife’s favorite song on my new CD.  (Click HERE to listen to the song)  The chorus goes:

It’s impossible to give forgiveness

It’s even worse to have to ask

If letting go is the answer

Living like it’s gone is the task.

How else you going to deal with the past?

Lance Armstrong and General Petraeus in one year are maybe more than we can take, even in our jaded time.  I find myself turning it all off more and more just to preserve my soul.  Cynicism can cripple the spirit.  It can rest on the belief that everything is a con, everybody is out to get you, all politicians are evil, and all human beings’ motives are bad.  While Christians might be seen to have a lot in common with that, what with the fall of humanity and all, I’m here to say, “Not really.”

The Christian gospel is not as much about how bad we are as that God knows it and loves us anyway.  Sin is not what lives on at the end of the day.  Its moment is the middle of a Friday with a dark sky and a rugged cross and a man yelling, “It is finished.”  But the last word is an empty tomb, followed by a hopeful church, a Holy Spirit, and a kingdom to come.

So as Thanksgiving approaches, it might do well for us to think about how to defeat it in our lives.  I want to offer two helpful practices from our faith that can be an antidote to cynicism. Continue reading “Cynicism and Forgiveness”

Christianity, Environment, Faith, Modern Life, Politics, Poverty, Suffering, Theology, Theology and Life9 Comments

Sandy Calls

Gary Furr
Sandy bearing down on the Northeast

I had many thoughtful calls about Hurricane Sandy because I have a daughter in New York City and another in New York State.  Both, thankfully, escaped the worst of it, neither even experienced a power outage.  They had friends, of course, who did.  But inevitably, an avalanche of odd theological statements come forth.
Speculation on natural disasters are not, of course, new.  A few people said, “God is telling us something.”  Having been through a tornado that hit my church many years ago, I wince at such statements, especially since the tornado spared every part of our proposed expansion program and hit every part that we had not considered, namely the offices and the sanctuary, where it ripped a hole in the roof right over the pulpit, which a few sawdust trail preachers in town suggested was payback for our liberalism (we ordain women and are open to all races and do not marginalize divorced persons, and have practiced these ways since the 1970s).

Continue reading “Sandy Calls”

Banjo, Bluegrass, Blues, Country Music, Creativity, Gospel music, Music, music therapy, Old-time music, Theology and Life5 Comments

Banjo Harmonies

Gary Furr

The truth is, the banjo, like all the indigenous music of the South, is another of those curious shadowy meeting places of black and white people. Surely by now you’ve seen that bumper sticker that says, PADDLE FASTER—I HEAR BANJOS PLAYING.  It’s an allusion to the worst movie for the banjo’s image since the minstrel era—“Deliverance.”  Despite the wonderful “Dueling Banjos” song, which was written by the talented Arthur Smith, whom I used to watch on TV from Charlotte, NC as a boy (and who also wrote the “Guitar Boogie.”), it was an image I’d as soon forget. The banjo … Continue reading Banjo Harmonies